15th

anniversary of the Taiwan POW Memorial

Joanne & Bob Officer (center) visit Taiwan POW camps

New Kinkaseki Memorial Photo Wall in the Gold Museum, Jinguashi

November 23, 1997 – the Kinkaseki / Taiwan

POW Memorial is dedicated on the site of the

former POW camp in Jinguashi. Currently there

are nine POW memorials situated at former

POW sites around the island, ensuring that the

men who suffered and those who died as

prisoners of war on Taiwan, have not, and will

not, ever be forgotten!

Some of

the POW

related

artifacts

on

display at

FEPOW

Day

The newly erected Karenko POW Memorial in Hualien,

the 9th

and latest, dedicated on November 12, 2012

Never Forgotten

Vol. 13, Number 2 FALL – WINTER 2012

The Official Newsletter of the TAIWAN P.O.W. CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY

- 2 -

LIST OF TAIWAN POW CAMPS. . . all found !

1. KINKASEKI #1 (Jinguashi) 2. TAICHU #2 (Taichung) 3. HEITO #3 (PingTung) 4. SHIRAKAWA #4 (Chiayi) 5. TAIHOKU #5 MOSAK (Taipei) 6. TAIHOKU #6 (Taipei) 7. KARENKO (Hualien) 8. TAMAZATO (Yuli) 9. INRIN (Yuanlin) 10. INRIN TEMP. (Yuanlin) 11. TOROKU (Touliu) 12. TAKAO (Kaohsiung) 13. KUKUTSU (Taipei) 14. OKA (Taipei) 15. CHURON Evacuation Camp (Taipei)

16. MARUYAMA Evacuation Camp (Taipei)

TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Hurst, MBE - Society Director - VP and General Mgr., J. Chen Enterprises Taiwan; Writer; Historian

Mark Wilkie - Educational Development and Training Practitioner; Historian; former soldier Prof. Jerome Keating, PhD. - Professor, Writer; Historian

Jack Hsu - Ret. Lt. Cmdr., ROC Navy Stuart Saunders - President, Esdesign Industrial Design

HISTORICAL ADVISOR. . . Prof. Jack Geddes - Professor, Historian, Writer, Missionary, Canada

OVERSEAS REPRESENTATIVES. . . UK - Cliff Foster cliff.foster34@virginmedia.com Aust. - Rod Martin ramartin46@optusnet.com.au

EX-OFFICIO. . .

Kevin Magee - Representative, Australian Commerce and Industry Office, Taipei

David Campbell - Director-General, British Trade and Cultural Office, Taipei Kathleen Mackay – Executive Director, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei

Hans Fortuin – Representative, Netherlands Trade and Investment Office, Taipei Stephen Payton - Director, New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office, Taipei

Christopher Marut - Director, American Institute in Taiwan

TAIWAN POW CAMPS

MEMORIAL SOCIETY P.O. BOX 665, YUNG HO

TAIPEI 234, TAIWAN, R.O.C.

TEL. 8660-8438 FAX. 8660-8439

E-MAIL society@powtaiwan.org

Please visit our website at:

www.powtaiwan.org

LOGO of the TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY

Our logo - a poppy cross superimposed on a map

of Taiwan - was chosen because in the fall of 1998

the returning POWs laid poppy crosses at all the

former campsites they visited. The poppy and the

poppy cross are recognised worldwide as symbols

of remembrance to war veterans.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY. . .

* to continue the search for survivors of the Taiwan POW camps from 1942 – 45.

* to search for the locations of the former Japanese POW camps on the island of Taiwan. [ completed ]

* to ensure the memory of the Taiwan POWs is not forgotten. [ ongoing ]

* to help with the organization of, and participate in, the memorial service for the Taiwan POWs at Jinguashi every November. [ ongoing ]

* to help educate the people of Taiwan in a little-known part of their history.

* to provide information to researchers, scholars, museums and POW groups

on the Taiwan POWs’ story. [ ongoing ]

Thought . . .

We all die. The goal isn’t to

live forever, the goal is to

create something that will!

mailto:ramartin@ozemail.com.aumailto:society@powtaiwan.orghttp://www.powtaiwan.org/

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FROM THE DIRECTOR. . .

Having made my annual vacation trip to Canada to visit my family in May this year, I thought that the summer might be quieter and that I might be able to get more work done on my book. As it turned out that notion was far from accurate as the summer turned out to be incredibly busy with research projects, visits from overseas guests, FEPOW Day, work on two more POW memorials and finally the renovation of the POW display at the Gold Museum,.

Due to a long, cold, rainy winter, I was able to embark on several large research projects, some of which I completed then, and others which I was able to complete during the hot humid spell we had in July.

In late spring I received word that my request to erect another POW memorial outside the Military Police base in Hualien, the site of the former Karenko POW Camp, had been approved and throughout the summer meetings were held and trips were made to get the memorial built. Once again the Ministry of Defense was outstanding to work with and a fitting memorial to those senior officers who suffered in that camp is now at last in place. (See story on pg 7)

In a surprise turn of events, while taking guests to the site of the former Shirakawa Camp in August, I again brought up the subject of a POW memorial for that camp – which has been in my plans for years, and after some preliminary work with local officials and the military, the process of getting approval for a memorial has been completed. Shirakawa Camp was where the senior officers went after Karenko Camp was closed in June 1943 and so the two are uniquely related. Work is currently progressing – stay tuned.

Remembrance Week in November was another outstanding event. This year was the 15

th anniversary

of the building and dedication of the Kinkaseki / Taiwan POW Memorial. We had a great turnout to celebrate this event and to remember those soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought - and those who died, for the freedom that is ours today.

We were especially honoured this year to have as our guests four members of the family of Maj/Gen. Beckwith-Smith who was the commanding general of the British 18

th Division (sent to save Singapore) and

who died at Karenko on November 11th 1942. They

were present for the dedication of the Karenko Camp Memorial in Hualien which was held on Monday November 12

th. (See stories on pages 7 & 8)

This year has also seen the addition of many more local friends and supporters from all parts of the island who are interested in making sure that the POWs are remembered here in Taiwan. You know who you are and thanks so much for your help.

In closing I would like to wish all our friends and supporters a very Merry Christmas and all the best of good health and happiness in the coming year. Let us all continue to work together to make certain that the Taiwan POWs will never be forgotten.

Sincerely, Michael Hurst MBE

TAIWAN CELEBRATES 5TH FEPOW DAY

Taiwan's 5th Far East POW (FEPOW) Day was celebrated on Saturday August 11th at the SPOT THEATRE in downtown Taipei. Featured as usual was a display of POW and military artifacts, which were enjoyed by the more than 40 people present.

This year we welcomed our first ever overseas FEPOW Day guests from the UK - Joanne Officer, whose grandfather was a POW in Heito and Shirakawa Camps, and her husband Bob. They had been in Taiwan for several days prior and we were pleased to be able to take them back to the places where Joanne's grandfather had been those many years ago. A full report of their visit is on page 5 & 6.

During the memorial service to remember the POWs, Joanne spoke about her relationship to her grandfather and how she always wanted to retrace his footsteps and how for her this was a mission fulfilled. Bob then spoke about what this trip has meant to them and then they both took part in the service by lighting the Candle of Remembrance and reciting the FEPOW Day Pledge.

The FEPOW Candle shines as we remember the POWs

Following the memorial service the POW documentary “The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai” was shown. Everyone said how moved they were and many said that they had no idea that such conditions existed on the Death Railway or in any of the camps in the Far East. All came away with a much greater appreciation of what the POWs suffered for our freedom.

Once again our event was a great success because of those who turned out. Our attendance is growing every year and we are looking forward to another great event next year.

A word regarding donations to the Society:

Banks in Taiwan are reluctant to accept anything other than US dollars, so if making a donation to the Society please send the funds in US$ - preferably in a bank wire / transfer to our account here. Please contact us for the pertinent account information. Thank you.

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REMEMBERING A GREAT FEPOW FRIEND. . .

A lack of space in the last issue did not allow me to include this tribute, so I wish to include it here.

ERNIE AGASS – passed January 27, 2012 L/CPL., ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS

Ernie and I first met at the London POW dinner we had in 1999. He and his wife Marjorie became good friends over the many years we have known each other. They came to Taiwan in November 2005 for our Remembrance Week event and they attended every reunion we had in the UK as well.

Ernie was in the original group of men to go to Kinkaseki in November 1942 and he had POW number 3 there. In August 1943 he was transferred to Taihoku Camp # 6 where he remained for the rest of the war. He was one of the few men we have known who worked in the Taipei Railway Repair Shops and I was honoured to take him there during his visit to Taiwan in 2005. I will miss him and the many memories we shared.

THE LAST FORMER DUTCH POW ON TAIWAN IS GONE . . .

HANS LESQUILLIER, a former soldier in the Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL) and the last surviving Dutch POW interned on Taiwan, passed away after a short illness in April. Hans, along with Kees Leeuwenburgh and Willie Exmann were the only Dutch POWs that we were ever able to come in contact with. Kees passed away in 2011 and Willie died in 2005.

Although having lost most of his sight in recent years, Hans always looked forward to our newsletters which his daughter Renee would read to him. He, along with Kees and Willie, told us a great deal about their time as POWs and also supplied a lot of other information over the years.

With the passing of these men another chapter in the story of the Taiwan POWs is now closed. They are gone from us now, but they will never be forgotten!

In Memoriam The following former Taiwan POWs have passed

away since our last newsletter.

We extend our sincerest sympathy to the families

of these men and assure them that although they

are no longer with us, they will not be forgotten!

ALBERT SENNA PVT., 803

RD ENGINEERS, US ARMY

MARCH 14, 2011 (Not reported earlier)

ROBERT G. BURNS SGT., 27 BG, 17 BS, USAAC

NOVEMBER 5, 2011 (Not reported earlier)

MORGAN T. JONES S/SGT., 515

TH CAC, US ARMY

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

TIMOTHY H. SMITH T/SGT., 515

TH CAC, US ARMY

MARCH, 2012

HANS LESQUILLIER SLD., ROYAL NETHERLANDS INDIES ARMY

APRIL 10, 2012

JAMES E. HUFF S/SGT., 24 PG, 20 PS, USAAC

MAY 31, 2012

LESLIE V. PUCKERING BDR., 155

TH FIELD REGIMENT, R.A.

JUNE 11, 2012

ROY EDWARDS SGMN., 9/11

TH INDIAN DIVISION SIGNALS

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

“We Will Remember Them”

Please let us know if you hear of the passing of any

former Taiwan POW and send us the information

as we want to make sure they are remembered.

PLEASE HELP US - NOW!

In the past few months we have received a number of first time emails from people telling us that their father, grandfather, uncle etc. has just passed away. It is always sad when we hear of a POW’s passing, but in response I write to them and ask “Why didn’t you write to us sooner and tell us about your relative while he was still alive?” “We want to hear from them, and about them, so we can learn more of the POWs’ stories to further insure that they are recorded and that the men are not forgotten.”

So PLEASE - if you have a loved one who was a Taiwan POW and who is still living, please send us a letter or an email and tell us about him -

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

REMEMBERING . . .

National Chin Nan University history student and Douliu

resident, Molly Wu, places flowers at the Toroku Camp

Memorial on November 9, the 68th anniversary of the

arrival of the first group of POWs to the camp in 1944.

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A PROMISE FULFILLED – A JOURNEY COMPLETED

Part of the infamous Thai-Burma ‘Death’ Railway

Private John George Hayes of the 5th Beds & Herts

135th Field Reg’t. Royal Artillery was a POW in Taiwan

from September 1944 til the end of the war – and he survived. But the story goes back well beyond that.

Captured at the fall of Singapore in February 1942, he was first interned in the Changi area until the Japs started moving men out in large work parties and sending them to the infamous Railway of Death in Thailand and Burma.

There he labored in various camps building a railroad through near impassable jungle – a task which claimed over 12,000 allied POW lives. The stories of the infamous Death Railway are well known and it is a wonder that any of the men sent to work there ever survived.

John was one of the lucky ones and when the Railway was completed he was sent, along with many men who the Japs considered both surplus and “fit”, back to Singapore to be put on transport ships and sent to Japan to work as slaves in the factories, shipyards and mines there.

In July 1944 John boarded the hellship Hofuku Maru and endured one of the longest and most horrible of all the hellship journeys. After considerable difficulty and delays the ship reached Manila in the Philippines and then had a layover of nearly two months during which time none of the POWs were allowed ashore but had to remain in the holds of the ship. Disease broke out and dozens of men died. There was not enough food or water and the men suffered from the intense summer heat down in the holds of the ship.

Finally on September 21st the ship set sail in a

convoy bound for Japan. Later that same afternoon the convoy was attacked by over 100 planes from the USS Hornet and the entire convoy was sunk in less than two hours. Many men perished when the ship went down with only around 200 being saved by swimming to shore or being picked up again by the Japanese.

John was in a group of 49 men who were picked up by a Jap sub-chaser. They were immediately taken to Taiwan and sent to Heito Camp where several of the men died within days. The on October 19

th he and the

rest of the survivors were sent north to Shirakawa Camp. Here they were able to recover from their ordeal as Shirakawa had been turned into a sort of ‘hospital camp’ after the departure of the senior officers to Manchuria a few weeks before.

John finished out the war at Shirakawa and then when the Japanese surrendered, all the men were moved to Taihoku to the Maruyama holding camp to await evacuation by the allied forces. At Maruyama the men were supplied with food, clothing and medicines dropped from B-29 bombers and then on September 6

th they were taken first to Keelung Harbour and then

by US destroyer escort to the USS Block Island carrier that was anchored offshore and waiting to take them to Manila and freedom.

This was the story that granddaughter Joanne Officer wanted to hear when she first wrote to me back in the spring of 2010, saying that she knew almost nothing of her granddad’s time as a POW, especially what happened to him after his time on the Railway. I was pleased to be able to fill her in on the rest of the story and then she expressed a desire to come to Taiwan to see for herself the places where he had been – to re-trace his footsteps. She and her husband Bob had been to Thailand and had visited the sites where he was there, thanks to my good friend Rod Beattie and his staff, and now it was time for Taiwan.

They arrived on August 7th and we first went to visit

the Hellships Memorial at Kaohsiung Harbour and then on to Heito Camp. We were accompanied by expat friends Maurie Sween and Richard Rankin and visited the site of the old Pingtung Sugar factory before going on to Heito Camp for a walk about tour and a short memorial service. We were joined by two former camp

guard friends and representatives of the Ping Tung County gov't. Later that night we were hosted at a dinner by the county governor Mr. Charles Tsao and had a great time.

- cont’d page 6

Above: Joanne at the Hellships Memorial

Below: Memorial Service at Heito Camp

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New exhibit with larger photos and clearly displayed

artifacts tells the story of the Kinkaseki POW Camp.

With the Hou family & friends at Shirakawa Camp.

A PROMISE FULFILLED - con’t.

The next morning we headed north to Chiayi and were met there by our good friends the Hou family who drove us out to the site of the former Shirakawa Camp. There we had another memorial service and explored the area around the former camp entrance. We also met with a representative of the military base which is the current site of the former camp and the local community chief to discuss the building of a memorial there and basically received the go-ahead to begin the project which we hope to complete next spring.

On Friday we visited the POW Park at Jinguashi and Joanne spent quite a bit of time by the POW Memorial Wall sitting by her grandfather’s name. It was an emotional time for her but yet a happy one as she remembered him and felt close to him again.

Saturday August 11th was our FEPOW Day event

and Bob and Joanne took part as our first overseas guests. Joanne spoke about a promise fulfilled, that of visiting both Thailand and Taiwan in memory of her granddad, and Bob told what their trip had meant to them. Then, as we lit the FEPOW Memorial Candle, they both read the FEPOW Pledge followed by a minute of silence. (See photo on page 3)

The next day was spent on some local sightseeing and fellowship before our guests departed for home. These kinds of pilgrimage trips mean so much to the family members of the former Taiwan POWs and we are always so pleased to be able to assist those wanting to re-trace their loved one’s footsteps. For more information or to inquire about a visit, please contact the Society through our website contact info.

RENOVATION OF THE POW EXHIBIT AT THE GOLD MUSEUM COMPLETED . . .

Following a special temporary summer exhibition at the Gold Museum in Jinguashi, the former first floor exhibits were re-instated and some alterations were made to others. One of those affected was the Kinkaseki Prisoner of War Camp exhibit.

A previous museum renovation in 2009 had reduced the POW display to a fraction of its original size and the photos and artifacts were hardly visible. Repeated complaints by the Society Director and many of the POW visitors resulted in the museum staff’s decision to improve the display, and we are very happy that they finally chose to do this.

Working with the design company, we were able to have a great deal of input which resulted in a much better display that now more clearly tells the story of the POWs and what they suffered at this notorious POW camp in WWII.

The photos were once again enlarged and the artifacts display was improved with the addition of several new articles, which provides a

more attractive display and better visual image.

We are grateful to the museum staff and also to the design company for their help in restoring our POW display to one which will inform and educate visitors to the museum about the Kinkaseki Camp and the Taiwan prisoners of war.

It is good to see that this permanent display is once again a focal point of the Gold Museum and we invite our friends and supporters here in Taiwan as well as overseas visitors, to take in the exhibit when they visit the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi.

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ANOTHER POW MEMORIAL FOR TAIWAN

Memorial service for the men who died at Karenko

Drawing of former Karenko Camp-Gen. DeFremery

Following the defeat of the allied forces in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines from December 1941 through May 1942, the Japanese decided to transfer all of the highest-ranking military officers and the governors and prominent civic officials from these areas to Taiwan where they could be held in tighter security. So from late August 1942 through the spring of 1943 more than 400 POWs - including Generals Wainwright, Percival, Beckwith-Smith, Callaghan and ter Poorten, were moved to the senior officers' camp at Hualien, known in those days as KARENKO. Conditions in the camp were very bad and the men faced beatings, starvation and disease. Three of the POWs died there.

The site of the former camp was re-confirmed by the POW Society back in 1998 and earlier this year, following the successful completion of the Taihoku Camp # 6 Memorial in 2011, we approached the Taiwan Ministry of Defense to see if another memorial could be erected in a garden at the entrance to the Military Police Base in Hualien city - the site of the former camp from August 1942 to June 1943.

The Defense Minister gave his blessing and the work progressed though this past summer with the memorial construction completed in late September. It was also decided to place an information board next to the memorial to tell people the story of the Karenko Camp and this was finished in early November.

On Monday November 12th the Karenko POW Camp Memorial was dedicated by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society, to honour and remember the men who were interned there in WWII.

The family of Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC from the UK was present for the occasion. Major-General Beckwith-Smith was the commanding officer of the British 18th Division, sent by Churchill to "save Singapore", but as history recalls, the island was lost before the contingent even arrived. Major-General Beckwith-Smith was a POW at Karenko Camp and he died there on November 11, 1942. The family joined in paying tribute to him and the other POWs.

On arriving in Hualien the official party first visited the old harbour and the docks where the POWs arrived and then went to the cemetery where the three men who died at Karenko were first buried. A short memorial service was held there in their honour.

After lunch a tour of the former camp inside the military base was arranged and our guests were able to see the remains of several of the former structures that still survive, including the former commandant’s office.

The historic dedication service took place at 2 pm. The Administrative Deputy Minister of Defense, along with the Mayor of Hualien, a representative from the ROC Veterans Affairs Commission, Society Director Michael Hurst MBE and members of Maj./Gen. Beckwith-Smith's family addressed the gathering. Government representatives from the UK and USA paid tribute to the POWs and to the Society for its work. A message from Robert Heer, the last known surviving POW from Karenko Camp who lives near Seattle Washington, was read at the service. Rev. Herbert Barker blessed the memorial and offered a prayer of dedication and remembrance. Wreaths were laid on the memorial to the accompaniment on the bagpipes and then the Act of Remembrance was carried out with the playing of Last Post, the observance of two minutes of silence and Rouse. It was a moving ceremony and one which all present will not soon forget.

We want to thank Minister Kao and the ROC Ministry of National Defense for their support, and in particular the Military Police Command Hualien Base for their help in getting the memorial erected. We hope that many of our local Taiwan friends and supporters will visit the Karenko Memorial and pay their respects to those who were interned there so long ago.

May we not forget them - ever!

Please see the Karenko Camp listing in the "Camps" section of the website for more information on the camp and more photos of the memorial dedication ceremony.

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The Piper plays Amazing Grace at the 16th Annual

Remembrance Day Service

REMEMBRANCE WEEK

This year’s Remembrance Week event was a bit subdued compared to former events in size and format, but was none the less moving and inspiring for those who took part. We only had one FEPOW family with us - that of Maj/Gen. Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC, the commanding general of the British 18

th

Division who was a POW at Karenko Camp and who died there on November 11, 1942.

On Sunday November 11th, more than 80 people

gathered on the site of the former Kinkaseki POW Camp in Jinguashi for the annual Remembrance Day

SHARING THE STORY . . .

TAIPEI COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER TOUR VISITS KINKASEKI

On Tuesday October 23rd

a group of 17 people joined a Taipei Community Service Center tour to the Gold Ecological Park and the former Kinkaseki POW Camp guided by Society Director Michael Hurst.

A delightful day was spent exploring the area which included a visit to the mining museum with its newly renovated POW display, the mine tunnel and the area of the former POW camp and the Taiwan POW Memorial Park.

A good cross-section of expats learned, many for the first time, of the hardships and the sufferings of the POWs in this camp and the other camps on the island.

It is great to be reaching the adult community as well as the youth in the schools through our tours. If you know of a group that would be interested in having a tour to Kinkaseki or other POW camp areas of Taiwan, please get in touch with the Society.

service. Led by TPCMS board member Mark Wilkie, this was the 15th time that the service has taken place there, and despite the rainy weather everyone said how much they were moved by the event.

Remembered were those POWs who were held in Taiwan, as well as the other veterans of WWII and subsequent conflicts, and those who are still fighting for the freedom we enjoy today.

Following the service a time of fellowship was had over a picnic lunch supplied by the four Commonwealth Trade Offices in the local community center. During lunchtime many of the visitors had a chance to observe the new POW Memorial Wall and Sculpture in the park and were touched by what they saw.

The Society is grateful to our co-sponsor, the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office and Director Stephen Payton and his staff, emcee Mark Wilkie, Rev. Dr. Herbert Barker, Piper Mandy Roveda, and trumpeter Dr. Allan Weston for their help in carrying out the event. The ROC Veterans Affairs Commission also assisted and ten former Taiwanese veterans took part in the wreath-laying ceremony.

We are looking forward to next year's event and everyone is welcome to join us for any of our special events that we hold throughout the coming year. INTRODUCING “SPIRIT OF REMEMBRANCE” TOURS In September we were made aware of an organization in the UK that specializes in tours to former battlefields and war cemeteries, and after reviewing their material we want to introduce this company and its services to our readers.

Managing Director Nikki Archer-Waring, formerly head of RBL Poppy Tours, along with her husband and partner, head up this new enterprise dedicated to offering wonderful opportunities for veterans and families to visit the former places they were by providing help with travel bookings and also help in obtaining the necessary grants available to do so.

Nikki comes from a military background and has roots in the Far East including relatives who were FEPOWs and one who died aboard the hellship Rakuyo Maru. She told me in an email, “This is why it is important to me to continue helping veterans and their families and to perpetuate remembrance.”

They offer not only group tours, but also programs for individuals who want to trace the footsteps of a loved one, so for those who may be interested in visiting Taiwan or other places in the Far East, please check out their website at: www.spiritofremembrance.com for information about the various kinds of tours offered and grants such as the Heroes Return and War Widows grants that are available.

We would urge you to get in touch with Spirit of Remembrance Tours and check out their services.

http://www.spiritofremembrance.com/

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TAIWAN WAR GRAVES PHOTO PROJECT Cont’d

Over the past several months, and thanks again to Debbie Gibson and her friends at Find-A-Grave, we now have photos of all of the American POW war graves except for one –

Freddy McCreary - Warfield Cemetery, Barbourville, Knox County, Kentucky

If anyone can help us obtain a photo of this grave it would sure be appreciated.

At this point we are down to only two graves that we still need the grave locations for, so altogether we need just 3 more actual grave photos to complete the project.

We still need information regarding the grave locations for the following two Taiwan POWs –

Frank H. Leroy, Sgt. US Army - Ariz. / New York

Adam Pliska, T/Sgt. US Army - Missouri

As you may recall from our last issue, it appears that these two men’s remains were carelessly handled when the graves were cleared from the Taihoku Camp 6 Cemetery. We suspect these two may never be found, and sadly they may never be remembered anywhere except on our website. If any of our readers can help find the locations of these two men’s graves, please contact us. Here’s hoping!

A MEMORIAL FOR POWS FROM TAIWAN IN HAWAII

Our last issue featured a short article on the proposed memorial to be erected to the men who died in January 1945 when the hellship Enoura Maru was bombed by American carrier aircraft while laying over in Kaohsiung Harbour en route to Japan with prisoners of war.

Over the past year a lot of effort has been put forth by the Society and the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor Memorial Society - formerly the Descendants Group, towards placing a stone on the Memorial Walk at the Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii in honour of the Enoura Maru men. We want to let people know who those men are in the 20 communal graves which contain the remains of the men who died and were first interred here in Taiwan so long ago.

We submitted our initial application last December and all spring were embroiled in discussions with the Punchbowl staff over the single issue of the use of the word “HELLSHIP” on the memorial stone. The cemetery felt that the use of that word could be “offensive” to the Japanese tourists who visit the cemetery to enjoy the scenic views available there.

First of all, the cemetery questioned the word HELLSHIP as being a valid word and correct historical term for the horrible, unmarked Japanese cargo ships that carried thousands of prisoners of war to their deaths through overcrowding, starvation, thirst and beatings. Although we clearly proved to them that it is a valid and an internationally recognized term for those ships - used even by Japanese scholars and historians as well, they still refused to allow the word to be used on the memorial stone. However, without the word HELLSHIP on the memorial we feel it would have little meaning and not tell the true story.

A key point that many of us are stressing is the position of the Punchbowl Cemetery director and his superior, and in fact the Veterans Administration in the USA, whose job and mandate it is to recognize the suffering and sacrifice of their veterans and see to it that they are honoured and remembered. It seems to us that the VA and the Punchbowl are more concerned about not offending Japanese tourists than they are about remembering their own veterans who lie in that cemetery! This is very wrong in our opinion.

In late June the Punchbowl formally rejected our application and told us to re-apply without the word HELLSHIP on the stone. We were not prepared to do that and felt that this needed to be taken “higher-up” and so it was decided to enlist the aid of some US Senators and Congressmen – several of whom are on the VA Committee, and make them aware of this travesty by the Punchbowl and the VA in the hope that we could have the decision overturned.

An appeal which included an info package of our previous dealings with the Punchbowl, was sent to Sen. Patty Murray (D) who is chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs Committee and about a month later the reply came back from them “Change the wording or NO Memorial!” This is not the response we had hoped for and consider it cold and hard in light of what those POW veterans sacrificed for their country.

All we want to do is make sure that they are properly honoured and remembered by the very organization whose mandate it is to do so. We are now considering other avenues to gain approval for the project. We want to tell the true story on the memorial stone and not have it watered down to suit some politically correct VA people and their uncaring pro-Japanese policies. So we will continue in our efforts to have the inscription accepted as is, and are hoping that the approval will come through. We are considering other options such as contacting other senators and a possible media campaign. We hope to have some kind of announcement in the near future and then notices and emails will be sent out with more info and details. We just want to ensure that the men of the Enoura Maru will never be forgotten with honour.

Mockup of the Enoura Maru Memorial stone

ATTENTION – ASIA WAR GRAVES PHOTOS AVAILABLE

In 2011 it was announced on the Taiwan POW Society website that photos of the graves of the former Taiwan POWs who are buried at Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong were available from the Society to POWs, family members, historians etc. – FREE of CHARGE. At the same time it was mentioned that photos of other war graves in the cemeteries in Hong Kong were available from Tony Banham, and that the Thai-Burma Railway Centre (TBRC) in Thailand would also pass on photos from the cemeteries at Kanchanaburi, Chungkai and Thanbyuzayat, Burma - all at no cost as well. Another member living in Asia - Tony Beck, who has photographed literally tens of thousands of war graves and memorials throughout the region has joined with us, and together in June of this year we launched the

ASIA WAR GRAVES PHOTO GROUP (AWGPG)

The purpose of the group is to distribute good quality photos of war graves and names on the various memorials from the war cemeteries located all across Asia FREE OF CHARGE to POWs, family members, relatives, researchers and historians – with the sole aim of keeping the memory of the veterans and POWs alive, so present and future generations will not forget the sacrifices they have made so far from home. We want to help ensure that they are not forgotten.

We offer FREE photos of ALL the war graves and ALL the names on the memorials from the following Asian cemeteries:

THAILAND - Kanchanaburi and Chung Kai

BURMA - Thanbyuzayat, Rangoon, Taukkyan

MALAYSIA - Taiping, Cheras Road, Terendak, Malacca, Labuan-Borneo

SINGAPORE - Kranji + pre/post WW2 sites

HONG KONG - Sai Wan, Stanley, Happy Valley - 12 cemeteries in total

INDONESIA - Jakarta, Ambon, ANCOL Netherlands Field of Honour

JAPAN - Yokohama

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Port Moresby (Bomana), Lae and Rabaul (Pika Pata) (NEW)

INDIA - Kohima and both cemeteries at Imphal

ISRAEL - Ramlah and Khayat Beach

In addition, the graves of the AMERICAN POWs who died in Taiwan and are buried and commemorated in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl Hawaii, the Manila American Cemetery, the VA cemeteries and private sites in the USA are available from the POW Society.

Our Group specializes in photos of the names on the many memorials – we have all 25,000 names on the SINGAPORE / KRANJI MEMORIAL, all 27,000 names on the TAUKKYAN / RANGOON MEMORIAL, as well as other major memorials such as SAI WAN, LABUAN and YOKOHAMA. We are finding that over 60% of requests are for names on memorials and we are happy to be able to supply them – FREE of CHARGE on request. Please kindly supply the location / panel number when requesting photos of names on memorials.

For photos of graves and names on memorials in these respective areas, please contact:

Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society - society (at) powtaiwan.org

Thai-Burma Railway Centre - admin (at) tbrconline.com

Tony Banham - Hong Kong War Diary - tony (at) hongkongwardiary.com

Tony Beck - All Asia Cemeteries & Memorials - nt872b (at) Hotmail.com

“AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM! ”

Please help us to spread the word about the Asia War Graves Photo Group around the FEPOW Community and we hope that many will avail themselves of our services.